ZIP 94621 vs ZIP 94603

This side-by-side compares ZIP 94621 (Oakland, CA) and ZIP 94603 (Oakland, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 94621 has a population of 29,870 at 1,483 people per square mile, while ZIP 94603 has 31,403 at 3,717 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 94621 reports a median household income of $52,049 against $76,723 in ZIP 94603, with per-capita income of $24,854 vs $27,661. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.5% in 94621 and 14.7% in 94603. Poverty rate reads 19.8% vs 13.4%, and unemployment 10.3% vs 4.9% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $543,700 in 94621 versus $614,700 in 94603, with median rent of $1,551 and $1,842 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 36.4% vs 47.9%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.